Pitman Theatre Department is known for delivering productions that are hardly comparable to other local high schools – Almost Maine, their latest production that ran from November 6th to November 8th, is another knockout example of this prophecy.
I had the opportunity to see the show at its closing performance.
What Was Almost, Maine?
Taking place in a city that’s too far north to feel like America but is definitely not quite Canada yet, Almost, Maine was a show structured like an anthology (or collection of stories) taking place in one concurrent timelines.
The show had nine separate stories that all occurred within the same time and followed a common subject: love. Love in a hopeless place, as Rihanna might say.
Here at the edge of America, where Canada was so close that they named the city “Almost”, the Northern Lights shone bright as nine separate stories all focused around love. Well… more like they lit up the sky eight times… but I’ll get back to that later.
These nine stories about couples, love, and the American land unlike any other were written by John Cariani and licensed to Pitman Theatre Department through Dramatists Play Service.
The Pitman Theatre Department production was led and directed by Mr. Patrick Norris – the advisor of the Drama/Thespian Club – with student direction by senior Thespian Amanda Esquivel and the stage managed by senior Thespian Christina Poulatian.
Now, some of my latter reviews may seem a little bit harsh, but I assure you that I write this with all of the most respect and regard for the cast and crew – most of which I’ve grown in the performing arts with for the last three and a half years.
So what did I think about Almost, Maine? Let’s take a look.
The Maine Review
For those of you who just want to know the “too long, didn’t read” summary: Almost, Maine was my personal favorite out of the three plays that Pitman Theatre Department has put on in the last four years since Director Patrick Norris inherited the troupe.
It gets a solid 4.6/5 almost Canadian snowflakes from me (with two particular scenes having the most impact on this score).
As mentioned in the first section, Almost, Maine is an anthology-like play with nine separate stories taking place on the same day in the city of Almost, Maine, U.S.A. all chronicling love stories between different couples.
NOTE: p.b. stands for “portrayed by”, while o.m.v. stands for “on my viewing”.
Those nine stories – with a little comment attached to each of them – are:
- Prologue-Intermission-Epilogue:
Featuring:
Ginette (played by junior, Thespian Jianna Piro)
Pete (p.b. sophomore Nikolai Vilkofsky)
Ginette and Pete are two young people with crushes on one another. This story was split between the three sections listed in the title and showed Ginette trying her best to get close to Pete, even as he said she’d have to go all the way around the world to get to be the absolute closest to him.
This cute story embodies the best of young love so much. Jianna and Nikolai did a phenomenal job, I rate this scene a solid 4.8/5. A strong start, middle, and finish to Almost, Maine!
- Scene One – “Her Heart”:
Featuring:
Glory (p.b. junior Gail Ramirez o.m.v.; alternatively senior Thespian Bella Barajas)
East (p.b. senior, Thespian Luis Ruiz)
Glory is paying her respects to her lost love… in East’s backyard. As the Northern Lights shine on them after this (and many other) misunderstanding, they realize that they might fall for one another.
This story was a nice opener for the fuller stories and introduced the Northern Lights as an important part of the story very well. Overall, the actor behind Glory did her justice and was the biggest factor in me rating the scene a solid 3.9/5.
- Scene Two – “Sad & Glad”:
Featuring:
Sandrine (p.b. senior, Thespian Liana Trosen)
Jimmy (p.b. freshman Matthew Rodrigues)
Waitress/Villian (p.b. Junior, Thespian Abril Lara o.m.v.; alternatively Senior Adlee Bratcher)
Sandrine is having her bachelorette party (this is important to some of the other stories) and runs into her ex-boyfriend which she ghosted, Jimmy. After unpacking what’s happened in their lives ever since, Jimmy reveals his misspelled “Villian” tattoo and Sandrine leaves – leaving him alone until his waitress, Villian, comes by.
Liana, Matthew, and Abril created such a funny scene that I could totally see playing out in real life. Special kudos to all three of them! I rate this scene a great 4.6/5.
- Scene Three – “This Hurts”:
Featuring:
Marvalyn (p.b. senior, Thespian Maggie Kirkes o.m.v.; alternatively senior, Thespian Julianna O’Mara-Stone)
Steve (p.b. sophomore, Thespian Brody Riddle)
Steve is pretty naive and innocent, while Marvalyn is really going through it with her new living situation in Almost. After some unintentional physical altercations, the two unintentionally reveal their situations to one another – coming to a headwhen Marvalyn unexpectedly kisses Steve as the Aurora shines.
This scene was by far my favorite out of the first act. Both Brody and Maggie did an excellent job portraying these characters and I believe that they both have a bright future ahead in entertainment. This scene earns the show’s first 5/5.
- Scene Four – “Getting It Back”:
Featuring:
Lendall (p.b. freshman Adrian Tapia)
Gayle (p.b. senior, Thespian Amanda Esquivel o.m.v.; alternatively senior, Thespian Maggie Kirkes).
Lendall didn’t have an answer for Gayle when she proposed to him so she storms to his house. When she demands her love back from Lendall and only receives a small drawstring pouch, her confusion turns into joy as Lendall gets down on bended knee – an engagement ring shining in the Northern Lights.
This was my first time seeing Adrian on stage and his pairing with someone as seasoned on and off stage as Amanda was perfect as their performances clashed. Lendall’s nonchalant and calm attitude compared to Gayle’s emotional and exaggerated reactions earns Almost, Maine its second 4.3/5.
- DEEP DIVE: Scene Five – “They Fell”:
Featuring:
Deena (p.b. Senior, Thespian Emma Smith o.m.v.; alternatively Senior, Thespian Haylie Hopwood)
Shelly (p.b. Senior, Thespian Anahi Cuevas o.m.v.; alternatively Senior, Thespian Nina Maldonado)
As the scene progresses, it’s made clear to the audience that maybe these two best friends might have a little bit more to their relationship. As the two women try to leave, Shelly falls on her knees and says that she’s falling for Deena. Deena reacts adversely at first… then falls on her knees herself. The two friends gaze at one another under the Northern Lights and leave their secluded neck of the woods together.
I understand the soul behind the writing of this piece, even if I have my own qualms with how it was written (and who wrote it). There was a great attempt to represent experiences like this amongst people of all LGBTQ+ backgrounds, even with such a tired trope as “two friends are secretly bisexual for one another.” Anahi and Emma brought a good performance worthy of a 4.6/5.
- Scene Six – “Where It Went”:
Featuring:
Marci (p.b. junior, Thespian Melissa Ruiz)
Phil (p.b. sophomore Liam Martin)
Here is where I drew the biggest parallel to I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. After skating, Marci unfortunately loses her shoe and Phil, already wound up by the stresses of life, frantically looks for it. Unbeknownst to Phil, it’s their anniversary… and Marci feels like they’re losing their spark.
Liam and Melissa give us our realest scene yet. I felt like I was seeing a scene out of two real peoples’ lives and that vulnerability and sense of reality. For this breath of fresh truth, I give Almost, Maine its second 5/5 scene.
- Scene Eight – “Seeing The Thing”:
Featuring:
Rhonda (p.b. senior, Thespian Bella Barajas o.m.v., alternatively junior, Thespian Zoe Ovalle)
Dave (p.b. senior Dyllan Cabrera)
Don’t worry about Scene Seven, we’ll address that one very shortly!
Rhonda and Dave have been snowmobile frenemies for the longest time. When Dave discovers art, he paints something for Rhonda… which she doesn’t fully see or understand. After a ton of back and forth (this scene was pretty long), it’s revealed that Dave and – eventually – Rhonda have a crush on each other.
And so… they insinuate that they’re about to do things that would be unbecoming to publish in a school newspaper, although I believe that the stripping off of thick winter wear depicted on stage wasn’t bad at all.
I got the chance to ask some audience members off the record about their thoughts on this scene and much of what I was hearing was not all that pleasant.
One young woman seated near me said that it almost “ruined the vibe” of the beautiful scenes that played out prior to it. On the other hand, I think the actors did whatever was in their abilities with this script, however unfortunate the writing may be.
With that being said, for the great effort of the actors and team behind the scene, I will be giving this innuendo-filled scene a 2.9/5. Some people found it funny, I found it a little unnecessary, and others could have done without it.
SCENE SPOTLIGHT: “The Story of Hope”
I chose to highlight one scene and its actors, as well as one actor in their own right for this review. These performers and their performances showed me the sincerity, maturity, grit, hard work, and love of the craft that I know they could bring and their scenes deserved.
Starting with the Scene Spotlight, a major shoutout to the team behind Scene Seven: “The Story of Hope.”
Starring seniors, Thespians, and Drama/Thespian Club Officers Mia Santoya (as Hope) and Noah Ruiz (as Man) – as well as senior and Thespian America Peña (as Suzette), “The Story of Hope” tells… just that.
Hope ditched Almost a long time ago, unable to find a place for herself in the world. Regardless of where she went as the years went by, she didn’t feel like she belonged anywhere.
And that was when she realized where she belonged. With Daniel Harding. And so she went back to Almost.
When Hope skipped town, she had just been proposed to by this Daniel Harding person… and she ran away. So here she was, back out in the cold of Almost, Maine on Daniel’s front step.
But when she knocked on the door and finished explaining that she discovered that his place was also her place in the world, she turned and didn’t recognize the man standing in the door before her.
She was expecting this strong wrestler that had proposed to her years before. Now, it was just some guy in glasses to her.
Hope frantically began to ask if this man knew where Daniel was or if he still lived at this home, explaining that she also used to live in the house she stood in front of now. For all she knew, Daniel stayed in Almost and kept their house after his parents passed away.
“He was one of the ones that stayed.”
The man and Hope went back and forth a little bit, talking openly about how her lack of a response to a waiting Daniel must have made him feel and discussing whether or not Hope really loved him if she walked away. She did, she does… but he was gone.
Defeated, Hope began to walk back out to the street where she had just asked a cab driver to drop her off after a 163-mile drive from Bangor, Maine – the closest place she could fly to for Almost. That’s when the man spoke up.
“Goodbye, Hope.”
Hope had been talking to Daniel the whole time. He joked that losing a lot of hope could make someone so much smaller that they would be unrecognizable.
Daniel’s a good guy, the audience can tell. Even after getting his heart broken by the woman who stood in front of him now years later, he could humor both of them – even saying that Hope was technically early to answer because she said he’d have her answer to his proposal before the sun rose.
In that moment, there was hope. There was light. We all hoped for Hope and Daniel to come true at that moment.
But that’s not how life goes, is it?
“Honey? Dan? Hon? Who’s there?”
And with that draw back to the present from Suzette, Daniel is back to reality. He very simply bids Hope the wish that she’d find her place in the world, and painfully – for both of them – closes the front door.
Then the Director Mr. Patrick Norris magic comes out. The set piece of the front door rotates 90 degrees to show the audience both sides of the door with one former lover on either side.
And the stage floods into two different colors: red and purple. Split by that door.
There was a brief moment of silence during the blackout… then explosive applause and cries of support for the actors.
I’ve had the privilege of working with and knowing all three performers in this piece for years now. Mia made her onstage debut during Pitman’s High School Musical, Noah his in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and America theirs in Little Women.
Having said that, the three of them – with the brilliant placement and lighting choices of the directing team – put on an award-worthy performance.
I’ve thankfully had the chance to give the three of them my personal flowers, but I’d like to assert here that they have bright and brilliant futures ahead of them should they choose to pursue entertainment – be it backstage or onstage, off screen or in the scene.
For those of you still reading, you should look out for these brilliant performers – especially Mia and Noah – in the future. They brought these characters justice and told a story with them that is often too relatable to many.
Lost love leaves lasting scars, and this scene touched every person’s heart in that audience through these great actors.
Oh, 6/5 for the score on this one. Phenomenal.
SHOWPERSON SHOUTOUT: Maggie Kirkes as “Marvalyn”
One final shoutout goes to the actress behind Marvalyn on my viewing and Gayle on others’: senior, Thespian, and Drama/Thespian Club Officer Maggie Kirkes.
Also making her debut with the Pitman High Theatre Department during The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Maggie has quickly risen to be a star here at Pitman and has acted in local filmmaker Madison Mitchell’s upcoming short film subsequent to.
If you saw her act at any point in her time here at Pitman, be it in Chicago: High School Edition as Roxie Hart or just seeing her pieces in Theatre class, you’d know that Maggie is extremely talented.
Her latest performance here in Almost, Maine reminds us all of the depth and reality that she brings her characters. Like the previously mentioned actors in Scene Seven, Maggie is truly going to make it a distance if she pursues entertainment in the future.
Closing Thoughts
I already provided my overall rating of the show at the start of “The Maine Review”, so I’d just like to rehash how evident it was that this play was extremely well-rehearsed and that many of the performers and people behind this show poured their energy into putting on another great show.
To the cast, regardless of what score your scene got based on the writing or the performance, I hope that you are all incredibly proud of yourselves. Don’t forget to thank your director!
I know this review comes almost a month after the final blackout, but I hope that serves as a testament as to how great of a job the Almost, Maine crew did.
You can support Pitman High Theatre Department in the spring when their spring musical rolls around.